Mother in call for backing for her son

Laura Davidge wants as many supporters as possible to sign a petition in support of Kevin Slumbers.

Kevin has a brain tumour and has started taking Avastin to fight the condition. But the treatment costs £1,000 a week because it is unlicensed for use on the NHS for such tumours.

His family and friends have raised £15,000 so far from a £22,000 target but want the NHS South to pay for his treatment.

Laura, of Wallner Crescent, Felpham, said: “Avastin is a huge benefit to Kevin.”

Her family are holding a table top sale at The Woodlands Centre, Woodlands Avenue in Rustington from 10.30am-midday on March 7 to raise further funds.

Clare Carr, who is the fiancee of Kevin’s younger brother, started the petition on www.change.org last week. She said there had been an exceptional change in Kevin’s life since he had started taking Avastin.

“Kevin’s oncologist has advised that if this drug was to stop, Kevin would die very quickly,” she said.

“I used Avastin some years ago when it was licensed but never as a doctor have I seen such results as this.”

The first three days of the petition had attracted 200 supporters by last weekend.

Four treatments of Avastin since last November have seen Kevin, 37, go from needing 16mg of steroids a day to 3mg and being able to walk a mile unaided compared to ten steps previously. His speech is also much improved from being very slurred and he can even play ten-pin bowling after mostly sleeping.

Southampton resident Kevin, who has a young daughter, was diagnosed in December 2012 with a glioblastoma multiforme grade four brain tumour after he began to suffer with severe headaches.

He had an operation to remove the tumour and had six weeks of intensive radiotherapy and double dosage of chemotherapy for six months.

In March 2014, eight months after he finished the treatment, he was told the tumour had returned. He had a second operation and different chemotherapy.

This put him back to full health only for the tumour to return again last September.

He was unable to have a further operation so soon after his second and had two weeks of extra radiotherapy three months ago.

Clare said Kevin turned to Avastin - used worldwide - for a final chance of treatment.